When parents sue their children for support

For years, Mr Taher ran a small clothing shop in Chittagong, Bangladesh. He retired with little money and became reliant on his son and daughter for financial support.

“My wife and I had to go through a lot of hardship to raise our son,” Mr Taher says. “But after he got married, he changed and stopped caring about his parents.”

Despite help from his daughter, Mr Taher struggled. The 75-year-old says he had no choice but to pursue legal action against his son, Mohammad Shahjahan, for maintenance.

“It was a hard decision for me. Everybody was telling me to file a case for a long time, but I did not want to. I filed the case when there was no other way.”

His son rejects the allegations. The pair have been estranged for decades but Mr Shahjahan, who works as a banker, says he did support his parents. He says his father brought the case “to disgrace him”.

Parent v child

It’s the kind of family breakdown that could happen anywhere but the remedy Mr Taher sought isn’t universal.

He filed a case under Bangladesh’s Parents Maintenance Act, a statute that provides recourse for parents against their children who fail to support them.

Many US states and parts of Europe also have so-called filial support laws on the books but they’re rarely enforced.

But in Asia they are sometimes used.

Emory University health services researcher Dr Ray Serrano has analysed the various laws in Asia, which are rooted in the concept of filial piety, or respect for one’s elderly relatives.

He describes the laws as an “extension of alimony or child support” in societies that prize family and communal values.

Duty to support

Singapore is one example.

Elderly parents who can’t support themselves can seek financial aid from their children under the country’s Maintenance of Parents Act.

They can file claims in cases where children are capable of supporting them, but fail to do so.

A tribunal may award a monthly allowance or lump sum. Maintenance awards can also be granted through conciliation.

Few cases make it to the tribunal as many are resolved through conciliation. In 2017, only 20 cases at the Tribunal for Maintenance (TMP) resulted in a maintenance award.

Cultural mores

China, India and Bangladesh have similar systems, which have developed over recent years in part to meet the demands of ageing populations. Dr Serrano says it’s the idea of “reciprocity”.

“If you are a (grown-up) child and not living with your parents you should at least provide for them.”

Children face fines and even imprisonment in some circumstances.

Take a recent case from China’s Sichuan province. Five adults were reportedly sentenced to up to two years in jail for abandoning their elderly father, after a court found they hadn’t fulfilled their filial duties.

The role of the state

The laws typically focus on elderly poverty and not longer-term care.

But as societies grow older, they could offer a tool to take pressure off the state.